No big surprise: Buffs fall to Ducks 70-14

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»Play VideoColorado's mascot Chip, a buffalo, sits on the sideline with head in hands after an Oregon touchdown during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Eugene, Ore., Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Any slim hope Colorado held for a postseason appearance was emphatically dashed by a 70-14 loss to No. 2 Oregon on Saturday.

"We're not giving in man. We're not giving in," senior linebacker Doug Rippy said. "We lost a bowl game but we're still playing for Colorado and the people that played here before us."

The Buffaloes (1-7, 1-4) were overmatched by the stronger and faster Ducks (8-0, 5-0).

Kenjon Barner ran for 104 yards and two touchdowns, De'Anthony Thomas rushed for another score and added a 73-yard punt return for a touchdown, and redshirt freshman quarterback Marcus Mariota threw for 136 yards and two TDS.

The Ducks built a 56-0 lead by halftime, and 70 points are the most they have ever scored against a conference opponent. It was Oregon's 11th straight victory, dating to a 38-35 loss at home to USC last season.

Christian Powell ran for 127 yards and two touchdowns for the Buffaloes, who lost their fourth straight. Jordan Webb started at quarterback, but Nick Hirschman also took snaps.

The Ducks piled up 617 yards, including 425 on the ground, and the Buffs couldn't keep up. Colorado came into the game ranked 112th in the nation on defense, allowing an average of 489 yards. Oregon had 447 by halftime.

Colorado had 245 yards on offense against the Ducks. The Buffs have yielded at least 50 points in their last three games, including last weekend's 50-6 loss to USC.

Oregon scored twice — on Barner's 1-yard run and Thomas' 9-yard run — before Colorado's offense even got the ball. Mariota added a 5-yard scoring run and then hit Bralon Addison with a 16-yard TD before the first quarter ended.

"We had three guys, maybe four, that had a shot at him, and I don't know if we touched him," Embree said of Thomas' winding sprint to the end zone.

Mariota found Daryle Hawkins with a 7-yard touchdown pass before leaving the game with most of Oregon's other starters.

Backup Ducks quarterback Bryan Bennett added a touchdown on a 6-yard keeper before the break, and Oregon's 56 points in the first half were its most since the Ducks scored 59 on New Mexico in 2010.

Powell had a 1-yard scoring run early in the third quarter to avoid the shutout for the Buffs, then added a 20-yard TD dash to narrow it to 56-14. Bennett answered with two keepers, from 3 and 17 yards out, for the final margin.

"They're a good team. They're fast. They're just what everybody would expect," Powell said about the Ducks. "They're disciplined. They made a lot of plays. They're a great team."

Webb completed seven of 11 passes for 31 yards, and Hirschman was 7 of 16 for 64 yards.

While Oregon remained at No. 2 in the AP Top 25 this week, the Ducks dropped to No. 4 in the BCS standings, which prompted coach Chip Kelly to quip that perhaps the computers were shut down at night before the Ducks played.

The Ducks will face USC next weekend in Los Angeles. The game at the Coliseum has been touted by many as the most important Pac-12 game of the season, but the drama was diminished when the Trojans lost 39-36 at Arizona on Saturday.

Pictures from our front porch of the Stout Fire from Sutherlin on the evening of July 30, 2015. Later in the evening after the moon rise, the effect of the smoke from the fires in Douglas County on the moon.